Review by Nathan on November 20, 2021.

I'm somewhat torn by Schammasch's decision to include an entire disc's worth of pointless ambient at the end of Triangle. On one hand, I'm kind of happy they didn't intersperse it in between the black metal tracks, because that way you're able to skip it if it doesn't really interest you (and trust me, it most likely won't). On the other hand, maybe it would have been more interesting if they had found a way to weave it into the songs, and now there's just a completely useless disc that probably means you'll end up paying a bit extra if you buy the CD. Not only that, but it's not like the songwriting is particularly dense and overwhelming on the first two discs. They still take plenty of time to provide interludes, introductions and transitions even within the black metal content, so splicing in some barebones ambient probably wouldn't contribute much. I'm glad that Schammasch was tasteful enough to realize this, yet somehow they still didn't realize that the ambient material just wasn't really that good? Whenever I put this album on with the intention of listening to it all the way through, I basically just end up forgetting I have music on when 'The Third Ray Of Light' onward rolls around. I suppose it's not really bad, it just doesn't do anything engaging, and I encourage you to read my Menace Ruine review if you want a full explanation about how I feel about that kind of stuff. It definitely seems a lot less interesting after you've just gone through an hour-long whirlwind of black metal, anyhow.

It's kind of easy to forget about disc 3, though, because the meat and potatoes of Triangle makes up for it. I'm not too familiar with their previous work, but on this album Schammasch kind of sounds like Ulcerate if they were a black metal band and were a little more pretentious about all that "occult symbolism" stuff. Interestingly enough, however, Schammasch have a more straightforward approach to their music. I believe this has to do with the vocals, as they're very steady and controlled--whether it's clean singing, doing a sort of yelled rasp, or letting out something more screechy rasp (see: the beginning of 'Consensus'), they always have a very constant rhythm that is fairly easy to follow. This is a big difference from Ulcerate's more sporadic, linear approach. Sometimes it feels like they almost use the same rhythm too frequently--maybe that's to give them more of a "chanting" feel? I suppose they do their job well enough, anyway. Every now and then they throw some off-kilter whispers and yells to keep you honest, such as in 'Satori'. Even excluding the vocals, Schammasch is pretty accessible in terms of more dissonant black metal. You can hear the parallels to Deathspell Omega and Ad Nauseam, but this isn't nearly as difficult to wrap your head around. The drumming is steady and doesn't show off much, even during faster moments, and Schammasch are generally much more controlled and less chaotic in their songwriting than many of their contemporaries.

There's a few notable high points on Triangle. The opening of 'In Dialogue With Death' kicks off with a really sweet blastbeat riff after the first two tracks spent a good deal of time warming you up for it. This was clearly meant to be listened to as a full album, and for all of the inability to build any sort of tension on disc 3, Schammasch do a great job of creating an ebb and flow that spans through multiple tracks, which makes the big moments of songs like 'In Dialogue With Death' hit that much harder. The clean singing on 'Metanoia' is also really, really well done, and immediately elevates that song to one of the strongest tracks on the album. It almost makes me wish Schammasch just sung everything on the album. Not that the harsh vocals don't work well or anything, but damn, 'Metanoia' is downright haunting at times and the clean singing on 'Satori' does just as well in enhancing the atmosphere. 'Consensus' and 'The World Destroyed By Water' also have a very nice rise and fall to them, though there's not one thing in particular that makes them stand out, they're just some solid, well-written songs. There's a fair deal of meandering done on the album, mind you, and sometimes it seems like Schammasch takes a while to really get going, but once they do you tend to forget all about that.

If you're looking to get into modern dissoblack but Deathspell Omega is a little bit too overbearing for you, Triangle is a great compromise, as it give off a very similar atmosphere with more accessible characteristics. Just don't be thrown off by the 90-minute runtime, because at least a third of it is filler.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Jack on March 11, 2002.

Why can’t bands like Ulver and Katatonia release all their great EP material on to one album? It becomes so damn annoying have to swap three CDs for what I should be able to listen to on one fantastic album.

Ulver released two EPs following their successful “Perdition City”, both were in the same vein of the predecessor and would fit snuggly tacked on the end. Katatonia with “Teargas” and “Tonight’s Music” have done exactly the same, recording 4 more splendid tracks which are definitely in contention for the best tracks from the “Last Fair Deal Gone Down” recording sessions.

Done in the same format as “Teargas”, but instead released after “Last Fair Deal Gone Down”; “Tonight’s Music” is Katatonia delving a little more alternatively away from “Last Fair Deal Gone Down” and perhaps (even though it is very, very early) hinting as to what might become of them after “Last Fair Deal Gone Down”.

This present format of Katatonia is better than what they produced on “Last Fair Deal Gone Down”. The quality and musicianship from Katatonia has once again risen a notch and it is without much hesitation that I do recommend “Tonight’s Music” to any fan of Katatonia. The only apprehension I have with “Tonight’s Music” is that it is only an EP after all and being only three songs long, money can tend to be wasted...

Bottom Line: Katatonia are seemingly not done with their “Last Fair Deal Gone Down” session and I truly hope for all our sakes that they never wind it up.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 7
Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.2 out of 10